Feb.! 1918
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E g R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
PREVENTION OF SCALE IN BOILERS The necessity of reducing to a minimum the formation of scale on the heating surface of steam boilers if efficiency is to be maintained was referred to in a n article in the Times Engineering Supplelrzent for September and in this connection Messrs. J. Dampney and Co., of Cardiff, Wales, draw attention to their “Apexior” compound a s a remedy against both scale and the pitting of the plates. The compound consists of 98 per cent pure amorphous carbon combined with a neutral organic vehicle. It is painted over the internal surfaces of the boiler and well rubbed in, and, when dry, it presents a peculiar surface which is antagonistic to the building up of a hard scale of crystallization. Any deposit which may take place, the makers state, can generally be removed easily without the use of a chipping hammer and falls off readily over large areas by concussion. I n cases where, through the use of soft water, the plates are attacked by pitting, the compound not only acts as a preventive but also arrests the progress of the pitting if it has already begun. The substance is not affected by boiling water or by steam under pressure, and, owing to its nature and the thinness of the film, the transference of the heat to the water is practically not interfered with.-M. ELECTRIC HEAT STORAGE 1N BOILERS I n a recent issue of Engineering an account is given of a new type oE electrical generator invented by Col. Revel, an engineer in the Italian army. The essential idea in the apparatus is the direct conversion of electric energy into heat by making use of the resistance of the water to be evaporated. Alternating circuits of 200 t o 3,600 volts can be applied and this apparatus is stated t o be automatic and to require no regulation. Lack of feed water merely diminishes the production of steam until the supply of water is renewed. The efficiency is claimed to be 97 to 98 per cent. The Revel apparatus is constructed t 0 work up t o 14 atmospheres and can be connected up a t any time to the steam pipes of an ordinary boiler. I n this way, temporary use can be made of hydroelectric supplies and their utility can be judged by the fact that they were often used before the war when the price of coal in Italy did not exceed $8 per ton. An illustration is given of an installation of 8 generators taking threephase current a t 6,000 volts and each developing goo t o 1,000 kilograms of steam per hour. The production of steam varies according to the area of electrodes immersed. The sediment collecting a t the base of the apparatus from water containing calcareous material can be released without interrupting the process.-PI. BRlTISH BOARD OF TRADE During the month of November the British Board of Trade received inquiries from firms in the United Kingdom and abroad regarding sources of supply of the following articles. Firms which may be able to supply information regarding these things are requested to communicate with the Director of the Commercial Intelligence Branch, Board of Trade, 73 Basinghall St., London, E. C. Artificial musk Boot buttons (manufacturers wanted) Camel-hair brushes CHEMICALS: Calcium carbonate (precipitated) Green stain for eye shades Sulfonated castor oil (50 per cent volume) Strontium carbonate Bicarbonate of soda Borate of sodium Calcium silicide London purple Paris green Corrugated paper Commercial dried blood for pharmaceutival purposes Die-casting machines Disinfertant attachments for telephone mouthpieces Fiber tubes, a/d-in. diameter
Flat handles for camel-hair brushes MACHINERY A N D PLANT FOR: Making felt wads for use with sport rifles
Production of clocks and parts thereof Making electric light carbons Maple or hickory skewers, spoons and forks, cheap, tin and zinc Nichrome drawn wire Oiled cloth for electrical insulation Pumice powder (20 to 50 tons) Self-making stamp pads Spectacle and eye-glass frames, goldfilled Silier leaf for coating pills ‘ane wax ole extract dI._ e parchment paper ? .
-M.
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MINERAL PRODUCTION OF VICTORIA The annual report for 1916 recently published gives the following yields of the various metals and minerals for the year: G o l d . , .................. 276,168 oz. Black Coal.. 417,183 tons Brown Coal.. 2,915 tons Antimony Ore. 12,382 tons@) Tin Ore.. ............... 122 tons Manganese.. 85 tons Gypsum.. 1,853 tons Wolfram.. 314 tons Magnesite.. 100 tons Kaolin.. 810 tons ( a ) Yielding 3,259 tons concentrates.
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-M. MANUFACTURE OF ELECTRODES According to the Ironmonger, a company called the Norske Elektrodeverker is erecting a factory a t Fredrikstad, Norway, for the manufacture of carbon and graphite electrodes. The capacity is 4,000 tons of carbon or 1,000 tons of graphite electrodes a year, and the works were expected to be in operation by the end of the year 1917. Carbon electrodes are expected to be the first article of manufacture. The machinery is almost exclusively of American make. The orders already in hand are said t o ensure the profitable working of the factory for some time and it is stated that the factory is working in cooperation with the Norwegian Government. The company will use power from the great waterfall of Sarpsfall, but in anticipation of this being inadequate, it has purchased the rights t o the entire power from the waterfall near Kristiansund.-M. RECOVERY O F POTASH AND MAGNESIA FROM CANADIAN LAKE The Oficial Canada Gazette of September 8, 1917, publishes an announcement to the effect that the Committee of the Privy Council have concurred in the recommendation of the Minister of the Interior that he be authorized to lease certain lands abutting upon Lake Muskiki in connection with the recovery and utilization of minerals from the bed and waters of the lake. These minerals, chief among which are potash and sulfate of magnesium, are intended for medicinal and other purposes and preliminary plans submitted by the company show that the proposed utilization of the waters of the lake will require the construction near the lake of a pumping plant, evaporating machinery, bottling works, etc. The name and address of the above-mentioned company may be obtained by manufacturers desirous of supplying plant, etc., on application to the Board of Trade, 73 Basinghall St., London. Reference No. 374 should be quoted.-M. FLUXES The fluxes commonly used in melting aluminum scrap, says the Brass World, are fluorspar, cryolite and salt. An excellent way of utilizing such material when a part of the scrap is small and not clean is first to melt a bath of aluminum using solid material and to allow it to reach a temperature of approximately 850‘ C., then to add the sweepings in such quantity that the bath will absorb them without losing its liquidity. The bath is then reheated and more scrap charged, the process of charging and reheating being alternated until the crucible is as full of metal as desired. The metal will most likely be pasty and a small piece of fused zinc chloride is added and the bath well stirred. The resulting action will free the mixed oxides and the metal will assume its natural fluidity. The crucible should be emptied immediately of aluminum before any reaction can occur b e t w e p the metallic aluminum and the heated oxide on the one hand and the oxygen and nitrogen of the atmosphere on the other, as such action will consume metallic aluminum and greatly reduce the percentage recovered.-M.
